The Young Designer Awards were created in 1998 with a goal to encourage design students to be creative, and for the 2014 edition, students once again are invited to design a new “hero” product for a luxury company, contemplating a thoughtful package design from a blank container provided by the ICMAD organization. The consumer package must be complete with caps, labels and accessories, including an outside package. The designs may include other components of the student’s choice, such as color coatings, bases and added decor that still have some degree of practicality. Caps may be treated creatively.

Entries are judged by design professionals, and the winners will be announced by February 2014 with product being sent out to participating schools in September 2013. This means entrants have six months to complete the project.

The student participantss can win cash, a paid internship, a trip to Los Angeles and meetings with some of the hottest beauty companies in the industry. Three winners will be chosen from the entries submitted for a trip to California where they will attend an awards dinner at Shutters on the Beach Hotel in Santa Monica, California on March 5, 2014. The winners will also receive a tour and meetings with some of the executives of three of the top beauty companies in the business—Murad, Ole Henriksen and Jouer Cosmetics—as well as a cash prize—$2,500 for first place, $1,500 for second place, and $1,000 for third place.

The first place winner will also receive a paid internship with East Hill Industries, a leading packaging design company in Texas, where they will get to work on packaging designs that could be featured on the shelves of leading beauty retailers around the world.